"Results speak for themselves," said Villeneuve, the 1997 F1 champion. "It is one of the worst rookie performances in the history of Formula 1."

Stroll is aware of the criticism coming from observers like Villeneuve, but he said in Montreal: "I don't care what people think. I'm happy for me and the team. The rest is noise. People who do not like me will always find excuses."

Lance Stroll scored his first Formula 1 points with a strong ninth place at his home Grand Prix in Canada Sunday.Stroll has been in for more than his fair share of criticism across his first seven ...

Before the season, Villeneuve actually defended Stroll, saying he deserved his Williams seat despite the millions in funding provided by his billionaire father, Lawrence Stroll.

Stroll qualified 10 places behind teammate Felipe Massa in Canada, and Villeneuve said that was enough evidence that Stroll's struggles are real. Stroll then finally broke through for his first points of the season in front of his home crowd in Montreal with a career-best ninth-place finish.

"I always had confidence," Stroll told Le Journal de Montreal afterward. "I also know there will be nothing easy about the next races. There's a lot of room for improvement, and we're working hard for more good results."